Tagged: Mike Santorelli

It looked like a road trip away from Rogers Arena was just what the Vancouver Canucks needed. Against the Ottawa Senators last night, the Canucks, playing their first of 4 games on the road, won convincingly by a 5-2 score. But it wasn’t just the final score that was impressive. David Booth played perhaps his best game in two years, and had a goal and an assist. Jason Garrison scored his first goal in 25 games. Dale Weise and Mike Santorelli both scored greasy goals from in front of the net. And Roberto Luongo made 37 saves. The #nhl should've...

Like this:

Photo credit: CTV.ca John Tortorella has lived and died by his top two lines this season with the Sedins and Ryan Kesler easily on pace to destroy their career averages in ice-time. While this is perfectly fine for now, I can’t see the Canucks’ top six forwards being able to stay at the top of their game at the tail end of the season if Tortorella is going to continue to ride them so hard, especially when you factor in that Daniel, Henrik and Kesler are certain to be traveling to Russia to compete in the Olympics. I decided to...

Like this:

Photo credit: canada.com With 20 games now in the bag in the Vancouver Canucks’ 2013/2014 season, here are some good, some bad, and some surprises and disappointments. It’s Torts’ team now. It wasn’t a surprise when GM Mike Gillis decided at the end of last season to fire long-time Canucks coach, Alain Vigneault. It was, however, perhaps a bit more surprising when the guy he tapped to succeed AV’s gum-chewing, hands-off approach with a gruff, known taskmaster in John Tortorella. By the end of last season, much was made about the complacency that developed, maybe in part because of AV’s...

Like this:

If you’ve been a Canucks fan for the last couple of seasons, you’ve probably wished a plague on the entire Los Angeles Kings roster at one time or another. Between the heated playoff battles, the taunting tweets, the mimicked slogan, there’s no love lost between these 2 teams, and the thought of a casual Saturday game between them likely sends you into a fit of anxiety. It’s a brand new season, of course, and now both teams to renew their rivalry, with the first of 4 regular season meetings in La-la-land tonight at 7:00 PM. The Canucks won 2 of...

Like this:

No forwards? No problem. Already playing with just 11 forwards against the New Jersey Devils, the Vancouver Canucks lost David Booth and Dale Weise to unknown injuries in the first period. With only 9 healthy forwards – and Andrew Alberts – left up front, Hank and Dank Sedin, Ryan Kesler, Mike Santorelli and Chris Higgins all logged 21+ minutes of ice-time. By the end of the game, it was obvious the Canucks didn’t have a lot of gas left in the tank. But Roberto Luongo came to the rescue, stopping all 17 shots he faced in the third period, when...

Like this:

I was blessed to be at all three of the Canucks home games this week. Although the team only picked up two out of a possible six points, I was fortunate to be in the arena to witness three big games: Cory Schneider’s return with the Devils on Tuesday, our rival San Jose Sharks on Thursday, and the popular Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Thursday in particular was a very memorable day for me as I was able to accompany friend of the blog Marie Hui as she sang the national anthems. I hung out with her in the dressing room...

Like this:

Welcome to the second TGATT of the Canucks 2013/14 season. Well, really it should’ve been the third by J.J. decided it was a good idea to get all hooped up on mai tais in Hawaii and dropped the ball! Talk about letting down the team, eh? Anyhow, what did we expect from the Canucks last night? The lackluster effort like we saw in San Jose or the beating we saw them lay against the Oilers at home Saturday? Didn't want to say it, but saw that coming. #canucks — Linds (@feedmehappy) October 7, 2013 Sure you did.

Like this:

[Every weekend, Canucks Hockey Blog goes out of town as Tom Wakefield (@tomwakefield88) posts his thoughts on what’s happening around the NHL.] Photo credit: Pesonen and the Pens Growing up in the `80s there were two camps: Wayne Gretzky vs. Mario Lemieux. The Great One vs. Mario “Le Magnifique.” To idolize one was to idolize a “great Canadian” – a small-town Ontario boy who grew up playing on a backyard rink. Wayne? He was humble, hardworking and personified brains over brawn. To idolize the other was, at least in my neighbourhood, almost traitorous. Mario? He was arrogant and aloof. He...

Like this:

ABOUT CANUCKS HOCKEY BLOG

Canucks Hockey Blog is a blog containing podcasts, opinions and commentary on the Vancouver Canucks and the NHL.
First established by J.J. Guerrero in 2005, CHB features regular contributions from Christopher Golden, Matt Lee, Clay Imoo, Elizabeth Moffat, Jocelyn Aspa, Victoria Pattison-Denault and various other contributors.